


Cat Days

by goldtintedroses



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Cat!Eren, M/M, modern day AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 05:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5573125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldtintedroses/pseuds/goldtintedroses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern Day AU. Jean gets a cat named Eren from his former roommate. It is the worst thing to happen in his life. It is also the best thing to happen in his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cat Days

**Author's Note:**

> For over-yandere. I hope you like dumb cat shenanigans. Also there's some Sasha and Marco but it's pretty mild :x

All of Marco’s stuff’s already packed into boxes and suitcases that when the time comes and Sasha comes to pick him up they all just pile Marco’s stuff into the moving van and car. The heavy bulkier things wrapped up in boxes are dumped into the moving van, they’ve rented. Delicate things that can’t handle the moving van go into the car. It’s a hassle trying to maneuver through everything and Sasha barking orders like she’s in charge. Halfway through the move the two of them disappear, they take Sasha’s car and when Jean tries to remind them that they’ve only got the van for a day, Sasha waves him off and Marco has to come in between the two of them. They’re gone for an hour before he sees the car pull up. Jean marches out, fully intent on giving Sasha a verbal thrashing before something huge is shoved into his chest.

“You’re welcome,” she says before moving away from him.

He sputters angrily for a few seconds, then looks down at whatever Sasha’s shoved into his hands.

Marco places a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. She insisted so I got you the gentlest one.”

“What?”

It’s a cat. A bonafide cat that’s defiantly trying to ooze its way out of its carrier. Jean stands there with the carrier in both hands and dumbly heads back to the apartment. Luckily, Sasha’s smart enough to try and put all the breakable things in the drawers and on top of the bookshelf before reaching over and grabbing the carrier from Jean. The cat is let out. It sniffs around before padding off to where Sasha’s laid out food and water for it. Eren, Jean learns later, is his name. He’s found abandoned near a doctor’s office, who’d taken him in for a little while before realizing what he’d gotten himself into. He was surrendered to the animal shelter with shots and neutering complete.

All throughout the day, they find Eren in various hiding spots and sometimes even in Marco’s boxes. The damned thing has a run of the house while they’re trying to get everything packed and organized. Jean’s already mashed his tail twice with an armload of boxes and it has the gall to hiss at him and look absolutely frightening. When the last of it’s packed, Jean’s standing there dumbly as Sasha gets in her car.

Marco gives him one last hug before saying, “If you need anything, call us. Especially about Eren.”

The cat’s not finished his reign of terror even as Jean’s heading to bed for the night. It rummages through his things (he can hear it all the way from the bathroom), it makes a weird yowling noise near his door until Jean opens it and looks down at him expectantly. It’s then that Jean realizes how utterly stupid the thing is, because the cat simply sits there and stares. He gets fed up and closes the door on it, only for it to start whining again. Morning comes and Jean gets a clean view of the mess Eren’s made. There are newspaper shredding all over the floor, the furniture’s knocked over. It’s almost like a tiny hurricane’s come into the apartment and wreaked havoc and that so-called hurricane was sleeping on the couch, belly up and snoring contentedly.

Cleaning up has to wait, so Jean just pops some bread in the toaster and makes a pot of coffee. He dumps food in one of Eren’s bowl and water in the other. His workplace isn’t far, he can at least check on him during lunch or even during the day if he can slip past his boss.

 It’s lot worse when he comes in to check on Eren, a complete nightmare to be exact. Books and magazines from high on the top bookshelf are now lying on the floor, completely destroyed, while Eren’s preparing to jump off the bookshelf. Jean curses Sasha under his breath as he rushes towards the bookshelf. He hisses as Eren leaps on to his shoulders and down his back towards his water bowl, leaving Jean cursing and sputtering.

With that out of the way, he goes into one of the closets and starts to sweep away some of the debris Eren’s left behind. Eren licks his lips after guzzling down that whole bowl of water and watches Jean sweeping the floors, apparently very fascinated. He jumps on the broom and Jean has to shake him off.  

The evening when he comes home, Jean just gives up. He opens the sliding glass door, he’s on the first floor so it’s not like the hairball’s gonna die from the height, he just needs a little moment to himself. Eren bolts out and Jean doesn’t see him until two in the morning, when he paws at the back door. Jean lets him in, he claws and tracks mud on the carpet. It’s another three hours as Jean tries to get him clean. He runs the water and unceremoniously dumps him in. Eren hisses and sputters before leaping out, narrowly missing Jean’s head. He drops mud on every surface of the counter as Eren tries to dodge Jean’s advances.

They’d reached a compromise by the end of the week, which is just Jean letting Eren out whenever he starts pawing at the door and letting him back in when he hears that familiar scratching on the backdoor. It works, mostly because Jean can’t be bothered with Eren and Eren can’t be bothered with Jean. Sometimes he comes back with weird things that Jean throws out as soon as Eren dumps it at his feet.

 

One day, Eren doesn’t return home in time for dinner, so Jean just leaves it there for the rest of the night. Jean wakes up to the sound of complete silence. Eren hadn’t returned, hadn’t scratched on the back door. Jean dumps Eren’s food in the garbage, it’s probably gone stale at this point, he puts fresh food and water. On his way to work, he stares out the car window, hoping to spot the hairball. He even comes back on his lunchbreak and tries to see if he can spot Eren in the back.

Two days turn to three days, he scratches his head, wondering if should put up posters or at least go looking for him. Eren’s been a stray before he’d been taken in by the pound, surely he could handle himself? Still, it wouldn’t hurt Jean to get off his ass and try find out where that suicidal bastard’s gone off to. He ends up leaving work early, driving around town and near his house, headlights’ on when it gets dark trying to see if he can spot that familiar coat of brown striped fur. No such luck.

He crawls into bed close to midnight, dreams of Eren meeting his end under a car plague him.

 

Someone’s left a message on his phone during his lunch break. Jean plays it while chewing on a sloppily packed sandwich, a woman’s voice comes on saying she’s found Eren and he’s safe at the animal shelter. He decides to head to the animal shelter after his shifts done for the day. First, he makes a stop to his house, to get Eren’s carrier and id.

The animal shelter’s loud and smells awful, even on Eren’s bad days, he’s doesn’t manage to smell that bad. Hange (the woman who had left the message) is at the front and Jean waves awkwardly hoping she’d get the message. She does and practically runs over to greet Jean. Eren’s in the back with one of the vet technicians in the place. Jean finds himself half-listening to Hange’s story on how some grumpy guy had dropped Eren off and how one of the other vet techs were new and they didn’t bother looking to see if he’d had a microchip on him. They didn’t know where or who he came from so they had given him a check-up and a cage. Since he’d had no name and nothing to identify him, the vets had dubbed him ‘Rogue.’

Rogue had apparently made a name for himself as the nastiest cat in the shelter. Everyone at the shelter feared handling him and only one person had earned his trust, enough to apply and check his bandages, he’d been in a pretty nasty fight with another cat before he’d got to the shelter.

 

Eren’s perched on someone’s lap in what Jean assumes is the staffroom. The person whose lap he’s occupying has short blond hair but enough to put up into a very small, very messy pony tail. He’s wearing a pink scrub with yellow silhouetted cat heads all over them, which Jean definitely does not think is adorable. He looks up when Hange clears her throat, surprised and Eren all but glares at the intrusion. Jean lifts the carrier up to Eren. Eren stares for a little while, then he shifts so that his backside is facing Jean, purring happily at the man.

Hange introduces Armin, who gets up and grabs Eren with both hands. He nods to the carrier in Jean’s hand. Jean fumbles a bit, only just realizing that Armin plans on putting Eren in the carrier. He gives Eren a light shove into the cage. Eren doesn’t take to kindly to it and begins wailing loudly.  Armin manages to quiet him down by sticking his finger in the carrier.

“Oh, I almost forgot this.” Armin pulls out a small scrap of paper from his scrubs.

Jean looks at it, puzzled. “It’s from the person who’d dropped Eren off. Levi, I think? He came in quite a few times, I think he was afraid Eren was a stray.”

After that incident, Jean’s determined to keep the suicidal bastard out of trouble, which means he stays inside 24/7 no exceptions. Eren takes to it for a few hours at most and then he’s begging to be let outside. Jean doesn’t budge and Eren retaliates by assaulting his foot. He’s tending to a fresh injury on his foot when he remembers the slip of paper Armin gave to him before he’d left the shelter. That Levi guy isn’t home so Jean just leaves a message before sinking back into the couch that Eren is currently attacking. His foot still aching and full of scratch and bite marks.

He’s running late. The clock doesn’t go off and by the time he’s realized that Eren actually knocked it on the floor, it’s already nine o’clock. He stuffs a slice of toast and orange juice in his mouth. Eren meows loudly to be fed while Jean’s trying to get his pants on. He stops and dumps a huge helping of kibble for Eren, hoping to god the little hairball’s distracted enough that Jean can get the keys and his wallet.

Connie comments on his haggled look and Jean has to resist the urge to snap back. He’s haggard and his breath smells, he didn’t even get the chance to brush his teeth. He’s just barely made it to work and his boss gives him a sharp look as he rushes in. Lunch is whatever’s in the vending machine. His mother probably would’ve killed him if three chocolate bars and two bags of chips don’t. Checking his phone, Levi’s left a garbled message full of swears before he invites him to tea at his house over the weekend. The guy doesn’t sound like he takes no for an answer so he just sucks it up and hopes this is the last of the lost cat saga for him.

 

The suit is itchy and uncomfortable but Jean bears it as much as he can, there’s already a car parked outside of Levi’s driveway, and Jean’s a little miffed by it. It’s an ugly and old-ish looking car, meaning it can’t exactly be Levi’s (his house looks too high end for something like that). That must mean Levi’s invited someone else. Levi looks unimpressed as he opens the door for Jean. Jean smiles, which Levi returns with a glare. He surprised to see Armin sitting on the couch. He’s wearing a shirt which he’s tucked into his pants.

He mouths out a quiet, “How’s Eren?”

“A complete monster.”

Armin frowns but doesn’t respond back. Levi brings Jean his own cup and pours tea into the cup. Jean takes a huge sip and tries to choke it down with a cookie. He’s never been a fan of tea, coffee’s better in his opinion but it’s best not to piss off the guy who’s invited you to his house.

“How’s Eren?” Levi asks.

Jean swallows down more of that awful tea and ends up half mumbling, “He’s fine.”

The response seems to satisfy Levi because he leans back on his chair and doesn’t say anything else for the rest of Jean’s visit but he stares blankly at the two of them. He’s relieved when it’s over and the two of them pack up to leave. Just before they reach the threshold Armin grabs Jean arm and pulls him down.

Jean tries to upright himself before Levi suspects anything. Armin whispers, “How have you been Jean?”

He shrugs Armin off as soon as they get outside. “Fine,” he says. “Just trying to fend off Eren.”

“Why?”

Jean shifts his feet, stares down at the ground. ““I dunno, I just-I haven’t let him out in a while y’know? The damned thing is just taking out on me.”

“I can help you if you want.”

He fishes into his pocket and pulls out his cell phone. Jean fumbles around his pockets for his own. They exchange numbers and Jean just stares as Armin gets into his car and backs out of Levi’s driveway. He even waves to Jean just before he hits the road. He gets a text when he’s driving home from Armin but doesn’t check it until he’s getting ready for bed and after he shovels through Eren’s litterbox. Meanwhile Eren’s taken to climbing up on the shelf again and Jean has to get him down again before he tries to jump off.

 

A few days later, Armin’s at his front door. He’s probably just finished his shift at the shelter because he’s still in his scrubs, this time it’s blue with cute little Dalmatian puppies all over them. Politely, he asks to come in. Jean slides to the side to let Armin in. Armin puts his stuff down by the entrance way. He sees Eren’s sleeping form on the couch, dozing happily on his back. He’s making weird snoring noises that grosses Jean out. Armin doesn’t seem to mind, he rubs Eren’s belly. Eren flicks his tail. The smile on Armin’s face makes Jean melt. Armin tucks a strand of hair behind his ear, he gives the room a once over before frowning a little.

Armin methodically checks all the rooms while Jean trails stupidly behind, answering questions as best he can whenever Armin asks them. At one point Armin stoops down to inspect one of Eren’s bowls and Jean bends down with him. There’s an awkward moment when Armin bumps into him and Jean almost trips when he tries to move back.

He pours some coffee for himself while Armin is sitting at the kitchen table frowning to himself.

“Problem?”

“No,” he says first. Then, “How did you get Eren?”

Jean’s lips pull into a grimace, like he’s thinking of something unpleasant. “Going away present,” he says. “From my former roommate.”

“I see.”

His tone is unusually grim. “Do you think you want to keep him?”

Jean sputters. Eren’s a nuisance but Jean’s not cruel enough to just dump him on the streets or wherever people dump pets they don’t want these days. He puts his hand on top of Armin’s.

“I didn’t ask for him but I want to try.”

Armin smiles and it doesn’t leave his face even when he’s getting his coat to leave. Eren finally wakes up hours after Armin’s left when Jean’s getting ready for bed, he tackles his foot and makes a yowling noise which Jean has learned is for food. He sighs before getting up and dumping a cup full of kibble in Eren’s bowl which he gobbles down greedily.

Since it’s Saturday and Jean’s spent all of last night entertaining both Armin and Eren, he decides to sleep in and is rudely awakened by the doorbell. Groggily, he opens the door to find Armin in jeans and a baby blue sweater. Before he knows it Armin’s pouring him milk and cereal in a bowl to eat. Eren’s incessant whining for food doesn’t go unheard either as he dumps a handful of kibble in his bowl. Then Armin disappears in the back area where the litterbox is. From where Jean is standing, he can hear shovelling.

 It turns out both Marco and Sasha didn’t leave enough things for Eren because Armin rolls the shopping cart around the aisles while dumping a whole bunch of things in it. He tries to explain what each of it is for but it all gets lost between Jean’s sleep deprivation and the crowds of people. He shells out a good chunk of his paycheck for all the stuff and Armin tosses him a sympathetic look and offers to pay for lunch.

They end up at a café near the pet store. Jean orders the cheapest thing on the menu, which is just a grilled cheese sandwich, while Armin orders a soup. Armin puts something small on the table.

“For Eren,” he says.

Jean picks it up. It’s an olive green collar with a bell and little keys decorated on it.

“It’s to make sure people know he’s owned by someone. Just put his registration number on it.”

“Thanks,” Jean murmurs.

 Reaching home, Armin puts away all of the pet supplies Jean’s bought. New food and toys, Eren pads up to the bags and sticks his head in them curiously. Jean has to chase him off when he starts chewing on the supplies. Armin shakes his head, clearly amused at the antics. He helps Jean put up the scratching post for Eren, clicks on the collar he’s bought, which Eren starts pawing at with his backlegs, and instructs Jean on how to keep wet food and how much to give per meal.

He visits Jean two days after to see how he’s doing. Jean protests at first but Armin smiles and says he’s brought groceries and take-out for Jean, which Jean frowns at until Armin explains that he’s seen Jean’s almost empty fridge. Jean happily wolves down on the Chinese food, while Armin checks on Eren. Slowly, Armin starts coming by more and more often to make sure Jean’s following his advice. One night, Jean just gives up and tells Armin to stay over in Marco’s old room, and before Jean knows it, Armin’s things start trickling its way into the apartment as well. His colourful scrubs are in Marco’s old closet. He buys a nice pack of expensive looking cookies and puts them in the pantry. Eren seems happier and more content too, curling up on Armin’s lap whenever they watch a movie together, playing with his toys. He’s getting there. Armin says to be a little more patient with Eren as he starts to come to terms with being a housecat. At least with the toys there, he’s occupied and doesn’t stare forlornly out the window.

 

Marco and Sasha drop in on Jean as a surprise. They’re not sure what to think when Armin answers the door and Jean has to come in between them. Marco, bless his soul, is more confused than anything but Sasha tunes into Armin. They all pack into Sasha’s car for lunch. There’s a new buffet that’s opened up close by that she’s been wanting to try. Sasha is absolutely relentless, asking Armin how he’d met Jean, and did he like him okay? Is the house still in one piece? He answers each question in the same order Sasha’s asked them.

Sasha dumps a whole bunch of food of her plate and starts swallowing it whole, waning Jean’s appetite. But both Armin and Marco seem content enough to sit and eat with her.  After lunch they head back to Jean’s place for coffee. Jean puts the kettle on and grabs the cookies Armin’s bought. He notices the pantry looks a lot cleaner and organized, probably Armin’s doing. Marco comes into the kitchen and smiles at Jean.

“I’m glad you found someone to room with you,” Marco says. “I was afraid after I’d left you’d just be alone.”

He leaves Jean bewildered.

Sasha grabs all the cookies from the plate before Jean has a chance to put them on the table. He tries to protest but Armin pulls him down, defusing the situation. He doesn’t notice it before at the restaurant but the two of them keep shooting him looks like they’re extremely proud of Jean and Jean just drinks his coffee awkwardly. Armin still has his hand around Jean’s elbow. For the first time, Eren’s not on top of Armin’s lap but rather on Marco’s. He does that thing that Armin calls ‘happy paws’ on Marco. When they head out, Marco touches Armin’s shoulders and says how he happy he is to meet him.

Armin heads back to the couch where Eren is slowly dozing off. Eren puts a paw on Armin’s lap, and stretches himself before he falls asleep. Jean is reminded of Marco’s words, about finding a roommate. He can pay the rent just fine on his own and Armin could easily find his own place to live but for now, for now this arrangement (whatever it is) is comfortable. And honestly, it’s the happiest he’s been in a while, he thinks as he joins both Eren and Armin on the couch.

**Author's Note:**

> Here are some scraps that I couldn't fit in.
> 
> [Link.](http://aeschereth.tumblr.com/post/136192861636/scraps-from-that-cat-aumore-i-wrote-this-out)


End file.
